University of Wisconsin President Ray Cross on Tuesday asked the Legislature's budget-writing committee to approve a new public authority for the UW System, a "dedicated and stable funding stream" and to reduce the governor's proposed $300 million budget cut over the next two years.

Shortly after he finished his testimony, a handful of protesters burst into the room shouting, "No cuts, no deals." Followed by four Capitol police officers, the protesters marched past the table where Cross was sitting to give testimony before the Joint Committee on Finance.

If Park Bank is liable for not spotting Sujata "Sue" Sachdeva's $34 million embezzlement from Koss Corp. and has to reimburse the company, Koss Chief Executive Michael Koss should also be ordered to personally pay the public company he runs, the bank argues in a new lawsuit.

Grant Thornton, Koss Corp.'s former auditor, should also have to pay a portion of any award that may be ordered, Park Bank argued in the latest twist in a long-running court fight stemming from Sachdeva's massive embezzlement.

"Park Bank denies any and all liability to Koss in this case," the bank said in its action. "Nevertheless, should Park Bank be found liable to Koss (Corp.) and required to pay damages to Koss, in this case, those damages will have been the result of a common liability of Park Bank, Michael Koss and Grant Thornton, thereby entitling Park Bank to (a) contribution from Michael Koss and Grant Thornton."(6)

NFC title match-up reminder of cost of doing (QB) business

Green Bay --- At some point, the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers will need to make difficult decisions at quarterback. The price keeps rising. And they've got two players on rookie deals. »Read Full Blog Post

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How very true. Seattle and San Fran need to make hay while they can before the economics of modern day football catches up with them. They are not going to be able to afford everyone in the very near future. It will be interesting to see how they approach the coming financial dilemma. I think Seattle locks up Wilson, he is very dynamic. Not so sure the same will happen with Kaepernick. He is very good, but I do not see him in the same category as Manning, Brady, Brees, and Rogers. Time will tell.

In the meantime, the Packers will be farther down the road in determining how to deal with the financial constraints of paying Rogers and Matthews. They both need to stay healthy and produce at an extremely high level for several years in order for the Packers to receive return on their investment.

Actually, mj6495, I'm not totally sold on Russell WIlson either. When the going gets tough ... he has a tendency to run first / throw second. But I will tell you he is very beloved up here. He is a PR agent's dream as far as doing all the right stuff.

Matthews is the Packers' bigger question mark. They just need him on the field to get their money's worth. Not blaming him for injuries, just speaking from an ROI perspective.

The Packers really need to be in "now" mode. It's unlikely another HOF-level QB is going to show up after Rodgers. Might need to take a flyer on some free agents. At some point TT is going to have to realize (regarding free agents) - you can't win if you don't play.

I disagree with the run first comment, he typically stays behind the line as long as possible to keep the play alive while looking downfield for open receivers. I like the Seahawk receivers but none can really separate in normal routes.

Good article and some posters keep noting this as well but, in the end, the final two sentences say it all. The goal is to win this year and not to make mistakes that limit you in the future. Future contract issues arise because you have acquired good players who perform and it just means you have to be a cap and personnel wizard in the future. Some teams handle it well, others not so well. We'll see.

For us, the Rodgers deal was a no-brainer. Given that, the Matthews deal was a bit of a calculated risk. Not a bad risk but a risk nontheless. Is it worth it? It depends.

The point made here makes sense, but it seems misleading to ignore the teams in the other conference championship game. Denver and New England each have considerable dollars locked up with their future hall of fame quarterbacks, and both have been able to build strong teams around them through developing their own players and strategically bringing in guys from other teams. To suggest that teams are at a disadvantage if they have franchise quarterbacks tells an incomplete story. What could be posited from looking at the four teams remaining is that teams do well to have either a good, young, cheap quarterback or a franchise quarterback who lives up to his contract to build around. When teams like the Bears or Cowboys have so much cap money tied up with average quarterbacks, there are too many other holes that they are not able to cover up.

I agree completely. Another thing to note is that the Broncos and Pats have both suffered significant personnel losses, yet still are highly competitive. They bring in free agents that really make a difference, and their coaching and preparation seems to be superior.

Blount and Talib, both guys jettisoned from Tampa due to legal/character issues. They are on cheap 1 year deals and have been huge. Might be a sign that Schiano was a moron too.

They traded for Sopoaga mid season to deal with the loss of Kelly/Wilfork. That hasn't really worked out, but they gave up next to nothing and they at least have a big body. I guess he was so bad in Philly that they were willing to cut him lose the same season that they signed him.

They got 100 catches from a guy who resigned a 1 year deal for the vet minimum.

To me New England is an enigma. They looked terrible against some mediocre teams early, but after catching some breaks they now look like worldbeaters.

I also feel like they would be the type of team to get Raji to sign a cheap 2 year deal, and he'll all of a sudden be a world beater.

Not arguing your point and I admire how NE stays on top but they haven't won a Super Bowl in what, 8 or 9 years? I am becoming more of a believer that it comes down to injuries which I don't see how anyone has any control of.

Winning the SB is the highest criterion - not the only one. NE is almost always competitive in the playoffs. GB hasn't been the last three years, and there's no reason on paper to think they will be in 2014.

SF and Seattle are definitely enjoying the extra CAP room afforded by rookie QB contracts, but what about New England or Denver ?? they are paying AR type dollars for there QB,s..... The difference is both DEN and NE have both used FA effectively to bolster there rosters, while TT and his ego refuse to keep pace.

True comeon but SF and Seat have paid big bucks to their RB's: 8.5 for Lynch and Gore 6.45 while GB has Lacy on the cheap at 616,802. That evens out the salary cap comparison since with AR costing 17.9 next year and on up to 21 mil the Lynch/RW combo gives 11 mil to RW and 14 mil to CK. In the NFL there will always be contracts you cut or renegotiate to fit in your perceived best players. When Lacy , RW and CK are due the Packers will have the least amt of room of the 3 since CK and RW cap number will be most likely over 10 mil less than AR's.

One is even more hamstrung when one's brain trust is incompetent. Just a HUGE fail on Coleman, Harrell, Wallace, Young, and this falls on McCarthy. Now, it is evident there is nothing on the defensive side of the ball and this falls on TT. Complicated by a special teams unit that could really not play worse and the revolving door of who is going to return the ball.

The coaching is so incompetent it barely passes for a NFL franchise, and yet, they play in a division that cannot win for losing. McCarthy has always rode the roller coaster but it always skips the tracks in the post-season, and now, they cannot win a playoff game in Lambeau. The failures are historic, so this has become a clown show. This team is as faraway as it has ever been, and Dom is the bright spot. He exists on an island with failure all around him.

You must be too young to remember the teams of the 70's and 80's if you think this team is "as faraway as it has ever been". As fans we have become spoiled by the quality of the teams put together since 92. Yes, it is frustrating to watch at times and some of the years have been just plain bad, BUT, we have had many good, some great years.

I for one will take the ups and downs of the past four years over ALL the down years of the 70's and 80's!\

Yeah, you should have, the first comment makes you sound a bit crazy! ;-) I still don't know that I completely agree. I shouldn't do it but I really wonder what this team would have looked like without all of the injuries the past three/four years.

Scneider's top two picks last year were 1st rounder James Carpenter who was replaced by this years 7th rounder, and John Moffitt, who is now out of football and doing stand up comedy. So what's your take on the Seahawks braintrust?

because of their superior drafting? their history of superbowl dominance? if seattle somehow wins this year they'll do it with the worst starting quarterback since trent dilfer. no reason to fear the seahawks. Marshawn Lynch will soon run himself out of his body. wilson is sub-standard and will cost them a fortune. eventually the rules will start to be enforced on defensive holding and pass interference and their feared defense will come back to earth.

dearlakenjens nice look at two draft picks to evaluate a draft. Sure they misfired their apparently but they did get Richard Sherman in the 5th round of that draft. In 10 Seattle got Kam Chancellor in the 5th round 61 picks after GB selected Morgan Burnett. If you want to look at their drafts in the entirety Seat has done much better than GB recently.

I am pointing out that Seattle, like every other team, has made glaring misses in the draft. Seattle clearly has the ability to pick DB's and maybe LB's but have struggled on OL, QB, WR, TE. Three of the top five contracts I believe are Harvin, Sidney Rice and Zac Miller, none of which were developed. Only Miller has been productive but not at the level of his salary.

Developed? Harvin was hurt all year so imagine how much better they will be next year if he is healthy. Rice was injured too. Rank the Packer receivers vs Seattle and tell me why Seattle is so much better?

The problem with the elite QB's salaries is that the salary cap has not gone up like it has in the past. Before the last CBA the salary cap went up about $7 million per year. Between 2000 and 2009 the cap had more than doubled.

Since the last CBA the cap has only gone back up to the 2009 level $123M. The money just isn't available if you are paying a guy about 1/5 of the entire cap. The GM's of these teams would have to be 20% better than their peers at their jobs and that just isn't likely, no matter how good the GM is.

This is another example of making excuses for poor performance. TT should be given a free pass because he has an expensive quarterback? Maybe we should examine the teams in the AFC championship game instead. Hmmm, both have high-priced quarterbacks, significant injuries and other personnel losses, yet they are still competitive at the highest levels. What is the difference between those teams and the Packers?

The difference is neither one had to play the Niners in the opening round of the playoffs. We were more competitive than the Panthers were, especially considering they had two weeks to prepare for that game.

only a snake oil salesman would tell you aaron rodgers is the best player in the nfl. if your team is on its own turf in a playoff game and has a first and goal at the nine, wouldn't the "best player in the nfl" find a way to score?